T
his article will take the facility manager through
the process of an LED renovation from the original
financial opportunity, to the idea, to the installation,
and finally to the successful implementation
of an energy saving hospital project at Boulder
Community Health in Boulder, Colorado.
This article provides background information and includes an
evaluation of energy project options, the decision to implement
an LED product, and the development of a potential energy
project. Details of the partnerships, the evaluation of spend, and
the project management needed to make the project viable also
are discussed.
The lay of the (energy) land
Boulder is home to Colorado University and is a town filled with
college-aged men and women. Boulder's business community
includes high-tech and savvy entrepreneurs that feed many
start-ups across the country. Boulder Community Health (BCH)
is a locally owned acute care community hospital with 178 beds
in two locations: the Broadway and Foothills campuses. Both
locations are within the city limits.
The main Broadway location was the home of BCH for more
than 50 years, until an expansion project at the Foothills campus
was completed in 2013. At that time, the acute care and surgery
departments were moved to the Foothills campus. The old
Broadway campus, both the hospital and the medical office
building, was sold to the city of Boulder in 2015, and BCH now
leases them back from the city. The Broadway location is now
used for inpatient rehabilitation, pain management, hospice, and
behavioral health. The Broadway campus also contains a cancer
center and a freestanding surgery center.
The energy conscious city of Boulder has enacted energy
requirements for all new buildings to have energy ratings
30 percent better than required by ASHRAE 170: Ventilation of
Health Care Facilities. BCH has the best-in-class variable-frequency
drives (VFDs), chillers and boilers, and air handlers. Boulder
Community Health partners closely with the city and believes it
a civic responsibility to be eco-friendly in business operations,
including recycling, composting, using organic fertilizer and weed
control, and reducing energy consumption wherever possible. The
commitment to sustainability helps us save resources, but also
poses challenges when looking for new energy projects that will
help advance our efforts.
Finding the right project
As a long-time active member of ASHE and the Energy to
Care Task Force and the sustainability liaison for the Colorado
ASHE chapter (CAHED), I had heard of other facility managers
participating in projects described on the Sustainability Roadmap
website (www.sustainabilityroadmap.org) as well as vendor-driven
energy projects.
The BCH Foothills site is fairly new and has few opportunities
to find a high rate-of-return energy saving project. BCH already
gathers as much solar energy as the roof will allow and purchases
wind on the open market.
www.ashe.org 29

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